Confessions of a 1970s Hogwarts Student
by Potteralltheway
Summary: Hi, this is my first fanfiction and it's probably rubbish, but please be nice! Please review! : **DISCLAIMER** All characters and some plot themes belong to JK Rowling. Also, I do not necessarily agree with any views expressed or implied in this story
1. Severus

Severus regretted instantly calling Lily a Mudblood, but he could barely dwell on these thoughts before he felt himself being jerked back up by the ankles.

"Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?" Potter laughed. Those idiots that called themselves the Marauders laughed, as did much of the surrounding crowd. Severus tried to summon his wand and tried to grab hold of his pants, but before he knew it, they were being pulled with almighty force up towards his ankles. Many of the crowd cheered at this.

"Hey, you can see why Evans likes him so much can't you?" Black shouted and the others roared with laughter. Then Potter used a jinx that Severus didn't recognise, but gave him a rise. He tried to fight it, but images of Lily kept forming in his head and before he knew it, he had a full boner. The crowd loved this, they cheered and jeered at Severus.

Potter said: "So, it isn't just your greasy hair that's dirty, is it Snivellus? I reckon you could do with a wash", and with a flick of his wand, Potter sent Severus flying into the Black Lake. As he hurriedly swum to the side (he didn't want to be attacked by the Giant Squid, let alone the merpeople) the crowd had a last laugh and a few last jeers at him, then dispersed, chattering happily- obviously the entertainment had cheered them up after an arduous DADA exam.

Severus clambered out of the lake and went to pick up his wand and school bag, then ran inside to find Lily. He ran first to the library, where she sometimes worked, but he didn't see her there, so he started to go to the owlery, when he saw her walking along a corridor, probably on her way to Gryffindor Tower.

"Lily, hey, Lily!" he yelled as he ran to her.

"Go away, Snivellus"

"Listen I'm so SO sorry about what I said, you know I didn't mean it- I would never…Lily, you KNOW me" he begged

"Yeah, I thought I did, but I was wrong" she said, rounding on him, then her eyes filled with tears and she stormed off.

Severus followed her, "Please Lily, I'll never forgive myself for saying that, I'm really, really sorry." He tried to touch her lightly on the shoulder, but she jerked away.

"Don't touch me, you creep. Don't you know that all these years, whenever you've come near me, it's made me feel physically sick? I only put up with it because I felt sorry for you, but now I guess I shouldn't have. I don't blame Potter for picking on you- you're a FREAK, just as he said. I don't even blame your Dad, if I had produced spawn like you, I'd want to hurt it too."

"Yeah? Well, maybe you were right, Lily, maybe we can't be friends" Severus said in a hard voice that wasn't his own. Lily glared at him and stormed off, but this time Severus didn't follow her, but walked briskly in the opposite direction, trying to fight the tears that were threatening to trickle down his cheeks. He told himself that she had no right to say those things- no right whatsoever. Hadn't she said herself less than an hour before that he had done nothing to hurt any of those stupid Gryffindors? He was just convincing himself that she was totally out of order saying those things, when he heard a piping voice behind him say:

"Severus?"

"WHAT?" Severus shouted as he spun around. He saw a frightened –looking forth year.

"Sorry, Regulus, I've just got a lot on my mind right now" Severus told his closest friend besides Lily.

"Oh, then I won't bother you."

"No, it's fine, I could use a little distraction. What's up?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could help me with a potions essay? I'm really stuck- you know how much I hate potions."

"You shouldn't, potions is great once you learn how. But don't you usually ask Lily for this kind of stuff?"

"Yeah, but I saw her going into her common room and she looked really upset. Like I said, if you haven't got the time…."

"No, it's fine. What's the question on?"

They had reached the library by now and Regulus got his parchment out, at the top of which was written "The Uses and Dangers of Monkshood". Regulus got out his copy of "Magical Drafts and Potions".

"It doesn't say anything about Monkshood anywhere. I even looked in the index but it's not there!" Regulus complained. Severus smiled, he had a suspicion of why this was.

"What about Wolfsbane or Aconite?" he asked.

"Yes, it says quite a lot about Wolfsbane, but what's the use of that? Professor Slughorn specifically said Monkshood!" Regulus told him urgently. Severus tried and failed not to laugh and Regulus looked at him blankly.

"Monkshood and Wolfsbane are the same thing, idiot" he told Regulus, "I learnt that in first year."

"Oh," Regulus looked a bit crestfallen, "I bet everyone but me knew that, right? God, I'm so stupid!" Severus felt a bit guilty- he didn't want to upset both his friends in one afternoon so he said:

"No you're not Reg, I couldn't make a snail vanish until a couple of months ago and you don't think I'm stupid, do you?"

"Of course you're not stupid, but vanishing snails? Even I can do that! I can make my quill disappear- look!" Regulus took out a quill and pointed his wand at it, but before he could say the incantation, Severus muttered:

"Better not", nodding at Madame Pince, who was prowling between the bookshelves and glared at the two boys suspiciously. They both automatically put on an innocent smile until she walked off, and then laughed silently. Regulus looked solemnly at the title and confessed:

"I still won't be able to write two feet on that and Professor Slughorn wants it in first thing tomorrow AND I've got quidditch practice tonight. Looks like I'll get put in detention."

"Come on, Reg, you're in the Slug Club, right? He isn't going to put YOU in detention. But I guess I can help you with it now if you want. What time's quidditch?"

"In two hours."

"That's plenty of time, come on, we'll do it together, providing you help me with my transfiguration essay tomorrow, OK?" Regulus nodded eagerly. Unbeknown to him, Severus didn't actually need help with his Transfiguration essay- it was just three feet on "The Theory of Bathsheba Darling Fount" and Severus already knew mostly what he intended to write. However, he knew that this would make the kid feel better, so he decided to pretend he didn't have a clue.


	2. Lily

Lily sat in the Gryffindor common room, trying to do some Charms revision, trying not to think about what had just happened between her and Sev. She felt so guilty about what she had said- no-one deserved to be bullied and abused, least of all someone as nice as Sev. But then he had started it, he had called her that HATEFUL name.

Lily decided that she shouldn't dwell, and returned to her Charms revision. She actually managed to learn quite a bit, before those idiot 'Marauders' or whatever they called themselves came in, shouting and laughing loudly, blowing Lily's concentration. She sighed and tried to regain her concentration, but was no use- they were so annoying! She went over to where they were sat.

"Excuse, me, do you mind? Some people are trying to work here- like, people who actually care about their exams!"

Remus muttered an apology, but Potter laughed arrogantly and said:

"I'll be quiet if you sleep with me, Evans."

"Shut up, Potter" she snapped, scooped up her books and stormed towards the portrait hole, but before she made it there, Potter muttered:

"Aresto Momentum" Lily felt herself slow down to almost a stop and Potter walked up to her, leering,

"Let me, go, Potter!" she shouted but he just grinned:

"What'll you do for me if I do?"

"I'll hex you if you don't!"

"Yeah? I'd like to see you try."

Lily was thinking about what to say next when Remus came to her aid and said:

"Prongs, mate, I think you should let her go."

Potter glared at him and then smirked and said:

"Yeah, might as well, she'll be begging me to give it to her soon enough, won't you, Evans?" Lily just glared at him, so he stopped the spell and Lily instantly span round and shouted:

"Furnunculus!" James' skin suddenly erupted into boils, much to his disgust and a few of the nearby Gryffindor's amusement. Lily gave a satisfied smirk and then strode off towards the library, where at least she should be able to work in peace.

As she walked, she became more and more infuriated with those idiots' behavior. Remus was alright and when not surrounded by the others he was actually quite nice. When they had first had Prefect duty together, he seemed to be able to talk of nothing but Potter and strangely Potter, Black or Pettigrew would always ask her afterwards what they had talked about, until she guessed that Potter was paying him for it. When she asked Remus and he confessed, he looked terrified, as if he expected her to hex him, but she just laughed and said that if he promised to stop talking about Potter, she'd tell him that they'd talked of nothing else. Since, then, they had been good friends. Except when he was with his friends. It was almost as if there were two Remuses. Still, Lily thought that the one she saw when he was alone with her was the TRUE Remus Lupin. So yeah, Remus was pretty cool, but Potter, she couldn't STAND! Black and Pettigrew were annoying enough, but she just disliked Potter SO MUCH! In fact, she decided that she hated him! She had never in her life hated anyone before, but she just despised that IDIOT! But what she hated most was how damned attracted she was to him.


	3. Severus 2

Severus and Regulus were getting through that essay quicker than Severus had hoped.

"See, not so stupid after all, are you?" he said.

"I guess not."

"Why are you always like that anyway?"

"I guess it's 'cause of my brother…..he's always been more intelligent, more popular than me. The only thing our parents value me for is my loyalty for the family and the fact that I'm in Slytherin. In truth, I couldn't give a shit about the stupid family, nor which house I'm in, I just wanted my family to be proud of me, to get one up on Sirius for a change."

"Listen, I don't want to offend you, I know he's your brother, but he's a total bastard, you know? Yeah, so he's popular and smart, but who's the better person? You."

"I don't know- Slytherins are more likely to be into the Dark Arts, aren't they? And my family's really into that kind of stuff. When my brother came home for Christmas, in his first year, he told me all Slytherins are evil. That's why I hesitated when the Sorting Hat asked me if I'd prefer to be with my brother than in Slytherin."

"That's bull shit, mate, since when did you trust your brother's judgement on anything? He's just jealous because he wants your family to love him best, just as most people seem to. Besides, it's not just that that you're ahead of him on. You became Seeker before he became Beater, right? Despite the fact that you're younger. And you're in the Slug Club, but he's not. Obviously Slughorn prefers you to him."

"Yeah, I guess. I can remember the look on his face when he found out I beat him to it in terms of quidditch." He laughed and, glad to see his friend cheered up, Severus laughed too. But not for long.

"Hey Snivelly, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Regulus stiffened at the sound of his own brother's voice.

"Levicorpus!" Black shouted and Severus felt himself being jerked up by his ankle for the third time that afternoon.

"When did we give you permission to leave the lake, huh? We wanted you to drown in there, but next thing we know, you're here, perving on my little brother!"

Severus said "I wasn't…." but was interrupted by Regulus-

"He was just helping me with my potions essay, Sirius." Potter cast a spell then that sent Regulus flying back into the bookcases.

"No-one asked you to speak, squirt" Potter jeered at him and Black glared at Regulus, then said: "You're as bad as Snivelly, Reg, you FUCKING HOMO!"

"I'm not…." Regulus started but Severus interrupted: "It's OK, Regulus, just go, run!" Regulus hesitated for a moment but took his advice and sprinted out of the library. Severus gulped- he felt even worse now he had been left alone with these jerks, but at least Regulus was safe.

"So who the hell do you think you are? Ordering him around like that? You're not his brother, he does what I tell him." Black yelled in Severus' ear, while Severus was careful not to wince. Pettigrew was giggling by this point and Black yelled:

"Shut up, Wormtail, this isn't funny! How would you like it if this freak was perving on YOUR brother?" Pettigrew reddened and looked down. Severus would have felt a twinge of pity for this boy- he obviously lived for the praise of his friends and criticism seemed to crush him- but he hated him just as much as he did those other jerks.


	4. Lily 2

Lily changed her mind about going to the library and went to the owlery instead- she was really upset about what Potter had said to her and she knew she couldn't go and talk to Sev. So she sat in the owlery and quickly scribbled a letter to her parents, telling that that her and Sev had had a fight and that she couldn't wait until the summer, when she could come home. She sent it off with one of the school owls- she didn't have her own.

After watching it fly away, she decided to go to the library- she didn't want to risk the common room in case those idiots were still there. But she was only making her way down the West Tower when Regulus nearly ran straight into her. He quickly told her:

"Lily, thank Merlin I've found you! My brother and his friends have got Severus in the library. Come quick!" Lily needed no further encouragement- she felt fury boiling up inside her as she strode towards the library, Regulus struggling to keep up.

As they neared the library, she heard Sev pleading:

"Just let me go! I didn't do anything to Regulus, I swear!" Potter yelled:

"Liar! You fucking perve! I…." But at this point Lily stormed in, closely followed my Regulus and interrupted Potter:

"STOP IT NOW!"

Potter smirked and replied: "Oh, come on, Evans, you're not going to stand up for that slimy shit after what he called you?"

"That's between me and him, now STOP it!" Lily demanded, suddenly feeling the protective instincts that she usually felt for Sev, any anger she had for him, gone.

"Lily, I…" Sev tried to speak, but before he could carry on, Remus cast a jinx that made Sev choke on his own tongue, much to the amusement of the Gryffindor boys, but this upset Lily further.

"I'm ashamed of you, Remus! You're better than these bastards. Besides, you're a PREFECT! You're supposed to set an example! Now LET HIM GO!" she directed this order directly at Remus, knowing he was the most likely to back down, but it was Potter that responded:

"Why the hell should we? That freak was trying to get with Sirius' brother."

"That's a lie," argued Regulus, more confident than normal now he had Lily at his side, "He was just helping me with an essay!"

"Shut up you little shit!," snapped Black, obviously embarrassed by the fact that he couldn't control his own brother. This made Lily's anger mount further and she turned on Black-

"As if you ever cared about Regulus- you just use him as an excuse. You wonder why Sev and Regulus are so close? Maybe it' s because Reg needs a PROPER brother!"

"That's none of your buisness. Shut up, or I'll hurt Snivellus worse than I was already going to."

"Tell you what, Evans," Potter butted in, "If you sleep with me, we'll leave him alone for a week."

"I've told you before, Potter, I'd rather sleep with a mountain troll."

Potter laughed, "Good, you can have a threesome with Snivelly here, then. But you'd have to find a blind one- even trolls have taste you know." Pettigrew squealed with laugher at this one. Lily just glared at Potter silently, but Sev tried to shout something, but in vain- Remus' hex was obviously still on him, so this attempt only made him choke even more.

Potter smirked, "Sounds like Snivellus isn't up for it- I reckon he only likes guys. So I guess it'll have to be me, hey, Evans?"

Lily chose to ignore this and turned to Remus.

"Come on, Remus, please just stop it." She felt guilty about saying the next part, but decided that it was all Remus deserved:

"I thought that you of all people would know what it's like to be thought a freak." Remus looked away, but said nothing. To Lily's surprise, it was Black that spoke:

"Come on, guys, we're wasting our time, we might as well go." Potter hesitated, but then nodded. Remus muttered a counter-curse and Black let Sev fall hard on the floor, then they left the library, Black kicking Regulus on the way out.

Lily ran to Sev and asked "Are you OK, Sev?", instantly concerned. He replied:

"Yeah, fine, but listen Lily, what I said earlier…."

"Yeah, I know," Lily interrupted him "And I'm so sorry about what I said, I really didn't mean it. Do you think we could just forget it all happened?"

Sev smiled and said: "I'd like that". Lily helped him up, immensely grateful that her friend had got over her cruelity so quickly.

Sev asked: "You OK Regulus?" The younger boy nodded and the three friends left the library.


	5. Severus 3

"Snape?" Severus looked up from his soup to see the sixth year, Alecto Carrow staring at him from across the Slytherin table.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to practise duels tonight? Amycus says he can get Filch out the way and we can meet in the forest- remember the clearing where we met last time?"

"Sure, what time?"

"We'll meet at eleven, OK? That'll give us enough time to practise before morning. Oh yeah, and if you see Dolohov, tell him he's invited, OK?" Severus nodded and then called after Carrow, who was already walking away:

"Hey, are any other fifth years coming? It's kind of awkward being the youngest."

"No fifth years but Crouch in third year's coming."

"Good- that kid's talented."

"Not as much as you, mate- you know more curses than Amycus and he's a seventh year." Severus reddened- he always felt awkward when one of the older students praised him, especially as he knew Amycus resented being beaten in duels by a fifth year.

Severus returned to his soup and muttered: "Incendeo" to warm it up. Then he started to stir it slowly with his spoon, returning to his thoughts. Exams had finished now and it would soon be summer. Severus knew all too well what summer meant- returning home to his abusive father. Lily had invited him to stay at the Evans' for the holiday, but his father had forbidden it- he made that quite clear in the Shouter he had forced his wife to help him write. Severus remembered that Lily had suggested he came anyway- she said no Muggle could break into her house and hurt him, but Severus declined. He usually confided in Lily, but he hadn't wanted to explain that if he disobeyed his father, his mother would pay the price. Severus was still thinking about this, when he heard a familiar voice say:

"Hey, Sev, you OK?" Lily stood smiling behind him. He looked around and smiled back at her.

"Yeah, it's just, nearly the holidays, you know?"

"Yeah. Are you going to be alright, Sev?" she asked, looking worried again while she sat down next to him. This caused some mutterings and a second year shouted:

"How dare you sit here? A Mudblood, disgracing this house's table! Has Slytherin descended into filth, now too?"

"Shut up, Yaxley, before I hex you!" Severus threatened. Yaxley glared at him and Lily but said nothing further. Ashamed of this cold reception, Severus muttered:

"Sorry Lily" then looked down, not knowing what to say, so Lily spoke first:

"It's not your fault, Sev"

"But this is my house and you're my friend and look at how they treat you."

"Come on, Sev, if I apologised for everything everyone in Gryffindor did- you know, like Potter and his mates, I'd spend my entire life saying sorry. Severus grinned at this and said:

"Fair point." Lily was about to say something else, but by then Lupin approached, looking guilty again. What Severus never understood is that this guy always looked guilty when around Lily, but he never stopped being a prick- if he felt bad, or fancied Lily or whatever, why didn't he just play nice for once?

"Hey Lily" Lupin greeted her.

"Hi, Remus, what's up?"

"Well, I noticed you over here and I just thought I should remind you that we're not really supposed to sit at other houses' tables. You're a prefect, after all."

"Did Potter put you up to this?"

"Um, maybe" Lupin admitted. Lily groaned, but strode off towards the Gryffindor table, calling:

"See you, Sev." Lupin followed her. Severus watched her as she made to sit down, but Potter blocked her way. She could see even from across the Great Hall that she was speaking angrily to him. Then Severus saw Potter trying to feel Lily up. She tried to push him away, but he grinned and carried on. Furious, Severus shouted:

"MOBILIARBUS!" pointing his wand at a tureen of hot soup on the Ravenclaw table and sent it soaring over to Potter, then carefully moved his wand to make the soup pour over Potter, being careful not to splash Lily. Lily jumped backwards, then he saw her laughing and grinning at him. He smiled back and watched Potter scream in agony, while Madame Pomfrey rushed over to help him to the Hospital Wing.

Severus knew he was in trouble- he saw Professor Slughorn already making his way over- no doubt he had earned himself at least a month's worth of detentions- and he knew Potter and his friends would probably want revenge, but it was SO worth it! Particularly because of the look on Lily's face.


	6. Lily 3

Lily glanced at the clock- she had a prefect meeting soon, but she really needed to finish this Potions essay. She made a snap decision that she couldn't be late for a meeting and although she had planned another two paragraphs on "How to identify the Draught of Peace" scribbled a quick conclusion, and headed towards the Great Hall. As she entered, she was relieved to see that Professor Dumbledore had get to arrive, so she sat down at the Gryffindor table, out of habit.

"Lily?' she heard Remus' voice from across the hall. She glanced over and saw him walking over, and sat next to her.

"So I never really apologised for last week, in the library."

"No, you didn't. But it's not me you should be apologising to, Remus."

"Yeah, I know, Lily, but you've got to admit, he kind of had it coming. Besides, they're my friends, I couldn't exactly put them in detention, could I?"

"I thought I was your friend too."

"Of course you are" he told her.

"Right!" she muttered, her voice thick with sarcasm.

"What else can I say, Lily? I notice you forgave Snivelly for calling you ….that name."

"Yeah," Lily replied, getting quite angry now, "Because he was actually sorry. But it's just words to you, Remus, isn't it? How many times have I forgiven you for being a TOTAL IDIOT, and then you've just turned around and done it again?" Remus looked hurt but Lily didn't feel remorse.

"What you said in the library, about me being a freak… "

"I didn't call you a freak, I just said you should know what it's like. Anyway, I was just trying to get you to leave Sev alone, so please don't try to emotionally blackmail me."

"I'm NOT. I'm just saying, it's not like you're a saint either, but maybe you're right, maybe I am a freak."

Lily didn't respond to this remark and they sat in silence, until Professor Dumbledore came in and sat at the head of the Ravenclaw table and the prefects all gathered and sat at that table.

"Sorry to arrange a meeting at such short notice, but I'm afraid we've got a rather serious problem. Apparently, some older students have been bewitching Fanged Frisbees to transport people who touch them to a random location, like a portkey, but with no preset destination. It's usually just a few miles, but the problem is that the Frisbees work in three dimensions. Although it will deliver the target to secure ground, this may not necessarily be safe- some other Professors and I spent half an hour trying to rescue Anthony Goldreich from the roof of the Astronomy Tower this afternoon and three misfortunate students have got lost in the Forbidden Forest. As you all now, Fanged Frisbees are forbidden in Hogwarts and the standard action is confiscation, followed by detention if students are repeatedly caught with one. I would simply like to ask for extra vigilance on this front and advise that you be careful when confiscating. That will be all. Thank you." The prefects started to disperse, muttering to each other. As Lily started to get up, Remus started talking again-

"Look, about what I was saying earlier, you don't know what it's like…"

"Yeah, so it must be hard for you, Remus and I'm sorry for that, I really am, but it's not exactly a picnic for Sev either, is it?"

"I guess not. But I NEED my friends, how do you expect me to deal with my problem without my friends to help?"

"Of course you need friends, but if they abandon you just because you don't want to join in with their HORRIBLE bullying, those particular ones aren't worth having."

"But I haven't got anyone else- not really. Yeah, so I'm popular, but only because I'm a Marauder and I wouldn't count the crowd that follow Prongs and Padfoot around as FRIENDS, exactly."

"You've got me."

"So are we still friends?" Lily looked down at Remus and hesitated, but then nodded. Remus grinned at her.

"You can be a jerk sometimes, but we'll always be mates" Lily told him.

"Course," he said, smiling, "So can I make it up to you this weekend and buy you a Butterbeer? It's the last Hogsmead weekend of the year, remember? Prongs and Padfoot will be at quidditch practise." Lily wasn't in raptures about the fact that she seemed to have taken on a position as a reserve friend, for when Remus' REAL friends were busy, but she wanted him to know she wasn't still mad at him, so she smiled and said:

"Sure. Listen, though, Remus, can you manage Prefect duty alone tonight? I've got to go to Slug Club. I could skip, I guess, but my Potions essay's rubbish so I want to butter Professor Slughorn up. We can always trade with next week, if you want."

"No, that's fine Lily, enjoy yourself. See you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Remus" Lily replied and hurried towards the Potions classroom in the dungeons.


	7. Severus 4

Severus approached the Slytherin portrait hole, muttered: "Shrivelfig" and clambered in.

Regulus came over to him.

"Hey, Severus. Listen, I hear there's duelling tonight? Can I come?"

"Reg, it's not up to me." Severus tried to explain patiently, but his friend's repeated requests to join the duelling were just driving him insane, "If you really want to join, ask one of the Carrows."

"I already did, but they said I'm not invited."

"I guess that's your answer, then."

"But I was wondering, if you had a word with them…."

"Sorry Reg, but I've asked them before and there's nothing I can do. If it's any consolation, I wasn't invited either last year. Anyway, I thought you had Slug Club tonight?"

"So have you! Besides, who the hell would want to listen to that idiot drone on all night, when they can practise the Dark Arts?" Regulus snapped, apparently angry at Severus for some reason. "Crouch is a year younger than me and he's allowed."

"I TOLD you, I don't make the rules" Severus yelled, then looked pointedly at the clock and asked:

"Well, aren't you late for Slug Club?"

Regulus stormed out and Severus felt a bit bad, but reasoned that Regulus didn't have to be so damned annoying! And if yelling was the only way to get through to him and shut him up, Severus thought he'd done nothing wrong.

Amycus Carrow strode over to him and laughing asked:

"Black still moping about not being allowed in?" Severus felt a strong urge to hex Carrow, but, reminding himself hat there would be plenty of time to get Carrow back later, he just smirked and nodded.

"Maybe we should let him in sometime soon. What do you think, Sis?" he asked Alecto, who had joined them by then.

"I don't know- he's not that talented is he? I mean we originally said just sixth and seventh years, right? And, yeah, I know we allowed Snape and Crouch in, but Snape, mate, you're pretty fucking good at duelling, better than most seventh years and Crouch is a fucking GENIUS, you know what I'm saying? I mean, that guy's taking twelve classes for fuck's sake- he has to use a Time Turner!" Severus decided to speak up for Regulus, although part of him didn't want to see Regulus at the receiving end of some of the older students' curses.

"He's probably better than you guys think. He once transfigured his brother into a bird and made him attack his own friends."

"Yeah, that's a pretty neat schoolyard hex, but it's not exactly Dark Arts, is it?" Alecto argued. Severus said nothing, so Amycus said:

"Maybe he'll be better when he's older. I think we should put this whole thing on hold." Severus and Alecto nodded reluctantly.

Severus sat down at one of the tables in the common room and started to do some homework. There wasn't very much, seeing as exams were over and it was very nearly the end of term, but there was enough to keep Severus occupied for the next few hours.


	8. Lily 4

Lily reached Professor Slughorn's office just as she saw food appear on his table at which the other students were already sat.

"Oho! Lily! I was getting worried, thought you weren't coming. We were about to start without you."

"Sorry, sir, I had a prefect meeting," only realising, to her horror that a Ravenclaw prefect, Oswald Treanon and two Hufflepuff prefects, Erik Schlenker and Zelma Miah were already sat down. Luckily, Professor Slughorn seemed not to notice and he simply beamed and said:

"No matter, no matter, you're here now. Please, take a seat. Shame your friend Severus couldn't make it." Lily slipped into a seat between Regulus and Cresswell.

"Oswald here was just telling us that his uncle may have found a new species of Fire Crab, isn't that right, Oswald?"

"Yes, sir," Treanon began, obviously loving the attention, "My uncle's team believe they have found a breed with particularly precious shells- very good for cauldrons, you know."

"Yes, but what was that suggestion your uncle made to the Minister last week? Talked to the Minister for Magic himself didn't he?" Treanon smirked and replied:

'Oh, yes, sir, Uncle often talks to the Minister- he's quite high up, you know, of course the Minister's very busy, but he always has time to listen to my uncle." Regulus rolled his eyes at Lily and Lily stifled a laugh. Treanon glared at them, but Professor Slughorn either didn't notice or pretended not to. Treanon continued:

"My uncle is very much for the breeding of Blast-Ended Skrewts."

"Yes of course, FASCINATING creatures and so valuable! What do you think, Lily?" Lily finished her mouthful of chicken stew before replying:

"I don't know, sir, isn't it cruel to force two animals that are so different in nature and stature to breed? And few people know how to properly care for them- it's not the sort of thing you can read in a book." Treanon sniggered and said:

"Yes, forget about advances in wizarding technology, all that really matters is these beasts FEELINGS!" Professor Slughorn looked unsure what to say, so he beamed and eventually said:

"Come now, Oswald, each to their own opinion, eh?" Treanon gave a beam, clearly making fun of Professor Slughorn, but, again, if the professor noticed, he chose to ignore it.

"Excellent, excellent." He then turned his attention upon Regulus,

"So, how's are all you relatives, Regulus? SUCH a family! How's your cousin, Bellatrix? She was in the Slug Club too, you know. Left just a few years before you arrived. You remember her, don't you Schlenker?" Schlenker nodded and stared down at his stew, apparently not cherishing the memory quite as much as Professor Slughorn seemed to.

"I think she's OK, sir, it's quite hard to tell with Bellatrix."

Professor Slughorn nodded and turned to another student.

After Slug Club, Lily and Regulus left together.

"Do you want to hang out by the Lake for a bit?" she asked "I don't really want to go back to Gryffindor Tower yet."

"Sure" Regulus agreed, knowing that most of his Slytherin friends would be heading off to the forest soon and not really wanting to be left in the common room alone. They sat under a fir tree for a while; the area was pretty much deserted as it was getting on for dusk.

"So how are things, Reg?"

"Yeah, fine, I guess, just, you know, normal."

"So where's Sev? And PLEASE don't pretend he had to do homework, because I know that's not true. He's with those others, isn't he? Those older Slytherin boys?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do, Regulus, and you can't go with them, can you? Is that why you looked so miserable at dinner?"

"I'm fine and so is Sev. Like I said, I don't know what you're talking about." He got up to leave, but Lily called after him:

"OK, Regulus, if you don't want to tell me that's fine, we'll talk about something else, OK?" Regulus turned around and sat back down.

"So are you looking forward to the holidays?" Regulus asked her.

"I guess so, I mean I'll miss this place and my friends, but I'll probably see Sev. What about you? Do you think we could meet up sometime?" Regulus laughed dryly and said:

"Lily, I couldn't give a fuck about your blood lineage, but you know that if my parent knew I was friends with a Muggle-born I'd be disowned."

"Yeah, sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. We might be able to meet up in Diagon Alley at the end of the holidays, but I might have to see how it goes."

"How come your brother hasn't told them about it? I thought he was jealous of you?"

"I don't know about that, but my parents probably wouldn't believe him if he did- it's not like he has any concrete proof." Regulus looked down, then said in a different tone:

"Just listen to me, Lily, having to hide the fact that you're my friend, as if I were ashamed of you. I'm not, by the way."

"I know you're not, Reg and it's not your fault.'" They sat in silence for a while and Lily was watching her friend, trying to read his expressions, when she heard a CRACK.

"Kreacher?" Regulus stared at the house elf.

"Master Regulus" Kreacher said, his voice full of adoration and bowed. "I bring a message from my Mistress- she requests that you and Master Sirius meet your Aunt Cynus at Kings Cross and she will take you home." Lily noticed how Kreacher's mouth seemed to twist when he mentioned Sirius' name.

"OK, thanks Kreacher" Regulus said, smiling at him, "How are you? What happened to your ear?" Lily looked again and noticed for the first time a tear in the elf's ear, which had swollen and was crusted with dried pus.

"Master Sirius punished Kreacher for accidently insulting his werewolf friend. Kreacher did not realize a friend of a Black was a werewolf. Master Sirius forbade that I tell my mistress." Kreacher looked sad- Lily expected that he would have loved to tell Sirius' mother that her son was friends with a werewolf.

"Here you go, Kreacher," said Regulus and he took out his wand, then said:

"Reparifors" and Kreacher's wound healed instantly.

"Thank you, Master" Kreacher said, enamored, "Master Regulus is so kind! If Master Regulus will permit Kreacher, he must go and deliver the same news to Master Sirius."

"Don't worry, I'll tell Sirius," Regulus promised, "Just please don't tell my mother that you saw me with a Muggle-born. That's not an order, just a request."

"Of course, Kreacher will help kind Master Regulus. But Kreacher must still go, with your permission."

"Thanks, Kreacher. I'll see you soon." Kreacher bowed again and disappeared with a CRACK. Lily grinned at Regulus.

"Wow, he didn't complain about my blood-status at all this time." Regulus replied:

"Come on, Lily, I've told you before, house elves naturally take on the same views as the families they serve- it's not his fault. He's pretty much the only friend I have at home."

"I thought you were your parents favorite? And what about you cousins and Aunts and Uncles?"

"Some of them might prefer me to Sirius, yes, or at least respect my supposed loyalty, but that doesn't mean it doesn't get lonely and boring."


	9. Severus 5

Severus was so engrossed on his essay about : "How best to survive a werewolf attack", when he realised that it was very nearly eleven and he had to run all the way to the clearing in the forest.

"Nice of you to join us." Dolohov muttered and he Avery sniggered. Severus drew out his wand and said:

"Well now I'm here, Avery, we'll see if you're still laughing after we duel." So Avery drew out his wand too. They bowed, paced, then Avery counted:

"One, Two, Three, CONFRINGO!" Severus shouted:

"PROTEGO!" and Avery's Blasting Curse bounced off. Severus then yelled:

"Fiendfyre!" and directed the ball of fire towards Avery, who managed to sent a jet of water out of his wand and extinguished Severus' fire just as it started to form into a serpent shape. Avery then cast an Entrail-Expelling Curse, at the exact moment that Severus cast a Finger-Removing Jinx. Their wand locked for a few minuetes, but luckily for Severus, he felt himself winning and then the connection broke and he saw Avery gasping in pain, with all the fingers in his right hand lying on the floor in front of him.

"OK, OK, you win" Avery managed to splutter. Severus grinned and said:

"Need some help, mate?" Avery hesitated, but common sense prevailed over his resentment at Severus for winning, so he nodded. Severus grabbed Avery's fingerless hand and laid it next to the fingers, lining them up.

"Episkey'" Severus muttered and the fingers healed themselves. Avery's pain subsided and he muttered:

"Thanks", smiling slightly at Severus, "I think I'm going to take a break now- that was pretty intense." Severus nodded,

"Yeah, I think I'll take a break too." They watched, in silence, the duel between Dolohov and Crouch. Dolohov was running at Crouch, firing all kinds on curses at him without speaking. Due to this Severus couldn't tell what they were, but they looked pretty nasty. Crouch was dodging them well enough, but he looked quite scared and Severus was about to suggest they quit the duel, when Crouch shouted:

"Locomotor Mortis!" and Dolohov collapsed on the ground, leg locked.

"Expelliamus!" Crouch yelled and Dolohov's wand flew towards him and Crouch caught it. Dolohov glared at Crouch, even while the third year muttered a counter-curse and threw Dolohov his wand back. Crouch went and sat next to Severus and Avery.

"That was great" Severus told him, "But didn't your Dad have a bit of trouble with that curse a few week's ago? I remember reading about it in the Prophet."

"Yeah", Crouch replied, "That's where I got my inspiration."

"Wouldn't your father mind?'

"Like he cares about anything to do with me. I'm not sure he even realizes he has a son." There was a brief silence, until Dolohov came over and said:

"Hey, I thought we were here to duel, not to have a fucking picnic- which one of you wants to get crushed by me next?" Not bothering to remark that Dolohov had hardly 'crushed' Crouch, Severus stood up and they began the duel.


	10. Lily 5

Lily stared out of the train window- they had only been travelling few hours, but already the landscape of the Scottish Highlands seemed tamer than when they had first left Hogsmead. She glanced across the compartment at Sev and Regulus. She was glad that they had managed to get a compartment to themselves, although she was pretty sure that Sev's friendship with those rather intimidating Slytherin Seventh years had helped. She noticed that Sev was staring out the window as well, a terrible look on his face, the kind of really sad look that people only allow on their face when they think no-one's looking.

"Are you going to be alright, Sev?" Lily asked. Sev looked across to her and suddenly his face changed, like he was putting on a mask.

"I'll be fine."

"Honestly?" Sev said nothing, so she continued:

"Sev, if there's anything I can do just say, yeah? And promise we can meet up?"

"I'll do my best." Her friend said.

"And you, Regulus, you'd better write this summer- last year I began to think you were dead." Regulus laughed, but Lily saw that neither of the boys were in the mood for laughing, so she said nothing further. Sometimes she wondered why it was that her closest two friends both had miserable homes- maybe it said something about her? She glanced again at each of their faces and saw two very different people from the laughing boys that they were the rest of the year. She just wished she could somehow help them, share some of their pain, to ease theirs a little. She told herself off for feeling so sad- why should SHE? She was LUCKY- so much luckier than her two friends- she had a happy home and, perhaps except from her sister, Petunia, she had a loving family. But at the same time, she felt somehow left out- she almost wished her family was slightly less, well, PERFECT- she just wished she could understand her friends better.

They all sat in silence for a while, but this was interrupted by the compartment door sliding open and Potter followed by those other idiots, swaggered in.

"Alright Evans? Come on, you don't have to sit with this slimy git," he said nodding at Sev, "Nor the homo," he added, presumably meaning Regulus.

"I told you, I'm not a fucking homo! Since when were you so homophobic anyway? I thought you prided yourself that you were above prejudice or whatever."

"Not a homo?" Black snapped, "Then why the fuck have you never had a girlfriend, you little skank? And why are you always with that disgusting ELF at home?"

"At least Kreacher treats me with respect."

"Oh, so now you want me to call you Master Regulus? To suck up to you like everyone else? Well guess what, PERVERT, not everyone has to adore you!" Potter glanced at Black and laughed, then said:

"Know what, MASTER REGULUS? We don't like perverts who fuck elves…."

"I never!"

"SHUT IT!" bellowed Potter, who then turned to Lily, "Come on, Evans, what do you say we go to the free compartment down the way and you sleep with me?"

"I'd rather die."

"Yeah? Then you're responsible for what'll happen now." Potter then hit Regulus with a knee reversal hex. Regulus screamed in pain and before Lily could register what just happened, Sev whipped out his wand and yelled:

"DENSAUGEO!" and Potter's teeth grew extraordinarily long. Lily laughed along with Sev, then told Potter to do a counter-curse on Regulus, but he and his friends just left the carriage, with Black shouting at Regulus:

"I'll get you later, homo!" Lily pointed her wand at Regulus' leg and muttered:

"Reparifors", remembering that Regulus had used that spell on Kreacher- it had been her that had taught him it- and his knees went back to normal.

"Thanks, Lily" Regulus muttered, "And thanks for helping me out then, Sev." Sev smiled at him and Lily nodded, then they lapsed back into silence and their own thoughts, as the Hogwarts Express took them further away from their true home and nearer to the summer that would change all of their lives forever.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who's read and/or reviewed. I'm not sure whether to continue the story? I've got the rest of the plot planned, but can some more people please review so I know whether there's any point? Thanks**


	11. Severus 6

Severus arrived at the other end of the barrier. Although the Hogwarts Express wouldn't depart for another hour, he was by no means the first. A terrified-looking first year nearly ran into him- he'd obviously ran at the barrier with his eyes closed. He looked up at Severus, mumbled an apology and rushed away back to his parents. Severus grinned- it would be cool being a Sixth year.

He glanced around for some friends, but saw neither Lily nor Regulus. He was instantly worried about Regulus- he hadn't seen him over the summer, but Regulus had sent him an owl saying that his brother had left. His family were devastated, but would never admit it, due to family honour- his mother had burnt both his Regulus' brother's and his uncle's (the one who had given Black a large sum of money upon his running away) off the family tree. Severus couldn't say he was sorry on the elder Black brother's behalf- that bastard got what he deserved- but from what he got from the owl, Regulus was having a bad time of it- his parents were in a shit state and everyone acted like HE had done something wrong, as if he needed to prove himself. Severus knew that Regulus hated his family at the best of times, but this had really worried him ever since he got the owl- that and his OWL results- although that was one thing he no longer needed to worry about, as he had got them last week and they were far better than he expected or even dared to hope.

Presently, Severus spotted some fellow Slytherins and headed over to them. Evan Rosier smiled and greeted him:

"Hi Severus, how was your summer?"

"Yeah, good. I didn't get the chance to see many people, but I had a good holidays. So how were yours?"

"No bad, but my OWLs were kind of disappointing- I won't be able to do Potions and probably not Herbology either- do you think Professor Sprout will let me take it with an A?"

"I don't know," Severus told him, although he was pretty sure that she wouldn't.

"So what are you doing this year?"

"Hopefully Ancient Runes, Defence against the Dark Arts, Potions, Charms, Herbology, Astronomy and Transfiguration. I know that's quite a few, but I'm not into quidditch or anything."

"Sounds great, but….." Evan was interrupted by the approach of Dolohov, now a Seventh Year.

"You OK Snape, Rosier?" they both nodded.

"Snape, I hope you're going to hang out with us more this year, rather than the Mudblood you seem OBSESSED with and that freak in the year below." Evan roared with laughter, but stopped when he saw Severus' glare.

"She's not a Mudblood, OK and I'm not obsessed with her. Now until you want to travel to Hogwarts in a matchbox, it's shut the hell up if I were you." Dolohov sneered but said nothing. Severus continued to glare at him- he had never liked Dolohov.

"Excuse me, I need to greet a family acquaintance." Severus lied and slipped away before either Dolohov or Evan could protest. Anyone who really knew his family would probably know that he had very few 'family acquaintances', but he hoped neither would notice- at least he wasn't Muggle-born, because they could hardly claim that their families had any wizarding connections. Then Severus decided he didn't care what Dolohov and Evan thought.


	12. Lily 6

Lily smiled as she emerged at the other side of the barrier and she immediately began scanning the crowd of students and their parents for her friends, when she heard a voice behind her:

"Hey Lily." She turned around and grinned at her friend, then hugged him, exclaiming:

"Hi Sev!" but she felt him wince and she released him.

"Sorry," she muttered, "Are you OK, Sev?"

"Yeah, I'm great, now I'm here with you, almost back at school." He grinned. Lily suspected that he was hiding something, but she decided not to press the matter, asking instead:

"So where were you? I've been staying in the Leaky Cauldron for the past week, but I didn't see you in Diagon Alley."

"I had to sneak out yesterday to do my shopping when my dad had a hangover and I slept rough last night. Anyway, it's nice to see you! I'm sorry we didn't meet up as much as I'd have liked- I had some trouble getting away."

"It's fine Sev, as long as you're OK."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for sending me your OWL results, by the way, and well done, you did great!"

"Thanks. So how come you didn't send me yours?"

"My dad doesn't let my mum or I have an owl. I sometimes borrow one, as you know, but like I said, I had some trouble getting out. I'll show you them on the train if you want."

"I'm sorry, Sev, I forgot. Natasha lets me borrow her owl sometimes, because both her parents have one so she doesn't really need him in the holidays." There was a long pause, then Lily continued:

"So we're NEWT students now. Exciting, isn't it? Do you know what subjects you want to take?"

"Yeah. Charms, DADA, Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Astronomy and Ancient Runes."

"Seven? I thought most people only took about four, five or six?"

"Yeah, but I really want to get somewhere in the world, you know? Besides, you know Crouch in Slytherin third year? He's taking twelve OWLs and it sounds like he wants to take them all for NEWT too."

"That sounds a bit extreme. I think I'll just settle for six or seven myself, thank you." Lily replied, laughing. They heard whistling and the crowd around them started hugging each other and the students started boarding the train. Lily had said goodbye to her parent on the other side of the barrier and she doubted that Sev had anyone to wave him off, so she said:

"We should probably get on." Sev nodded and they climbed onto the train, then walked along the crowded corridors until they found a small, but empty compartment and sat down.

"Reg will be surprised you're taking transfiguration- you always made out you were bad at it in front of him."

"Not really on purpose, it just kind of happened. So have you seen Reg this summer? Because I didn't."

"No, I just got a few owls from him. Did he tell you about his brother?'

"That he left home and that his family's worse than ever? Yeah. But it's all right for his brother, isn't it? Regulus said their uncle Alphard gave him a fortune." Sev told Lily, sounding quite bitter.

"Yeah, I know, it's pretty tough on Regulus, though, isn't it?"

"Yeah, poor sonuvabitch." Sev sighed. They sat in silence for a few moments, until Regulus came through the compartment door.

"Hey," he muttered and sank down on the seat next to Lily.

"Hey" Sev replied and Lily smiled at him. He looked upset, so Lily wanted to give him a hug, but something in his expression made her know she shouldn't. She didn't know what to say, so she said:

"So congrats on becoming prefect, Reg, I knew Professor Dumbledore would pick you."

"Yeah? Well if Dumbledore thinks it'll make me a do-gooder, he's got another think coming." Regulus snapped. Lily was shocked- Regulus could get a bit moody at times, but he'd always respected Professor Dumbledore and she'd never heard him complain about the rules. There was a silence, which was eventually broken by Regulus:

"Sorry, Lily. Thanks for the congratulations." Lily nodded and smiled, then wondered what she could say to Regulus to make him feel better. She felt so guilty that she couldn't even comfort her friend.


	13. Severus 7

Severus glanced at Regulus. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he noticed that something had changed in his friend- probably something to do with the his shit of a brother. He tried to talk:

"Reg, you're OK, right? And you know we're here for you if you need….."

"I'm fine and I don't need to talk to anyone." Regulus told him, not quite as sharply as when he had spoken to Lily, but still abrupt. Severus nodded and the three of them sat in silence again for a while. Severus stared out the window, until he heard the compartment door slide open again and he turned to see Alecto Carrow and Avery standing, smirking at the door. Alecto spoke first:

"Snape, what the hell are you doing with that filthy Mudblood?" she turned to Lily, "This compartment is reserved for pure-bloods." Severus yelled:

"Fuck you Carrow!" at exactly the same time as Regulus shouted,

"Shut the fuck up, or I'll curse you right here!" Lily looked upset but smiled and said;  
"It's OK, guys, I've got to go to prefect duty anyway."

"Lily, you don't have to leave- don't listen to these bastards." Severus told her.

"It's fine, Sev, really. Like I said, I've got prefect duty," and she left before he could argue. As soon as she was gone, Avery snapped-

"Well, I never had you down as a blood traitor, Snape and Black, if that's your attitude, I might as well withdraw my invitation to you to come duelling." Regulus seemed to have forgotten Lily and he beamed and asked:

"Really? I can join you guys?"

"Yeah, but if you prove to be shit, you're out and if you let anything slip, we'll fucking kill you. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it."

"I don't know," argued Carrow, " I still don't think he's hard enough."

"Yeah? You want be to show how hard I am, Carrow? I think Crucio-ing you would prove myself, don't you agree?" Carrow laughed and replied:

"You couldn't Crucio a fly. Besides, we're TRYING to stay secret, remember?" Carrow taunted him. Severus considered stepping in, but reasoned that Regulus needed to know what he was letting himself in for, so said nothing. Regulus shrugged then told them:

"I've got prefect duty," and walked off, obviously trying to look casual and confident, but Severs saw right through him.

"Play the good boy as you want, Black!" Avery called after him, "It won't help you in the Dark Arts." He said this last part a bit more quietly. Regulus walked off again and Carrow and Avery laughed then turned back to Severus.

"We're going now, we'll let you know about timings." Carrow told him and he nodded but said nothing and didn't even look at them while thy left. He waited for a few moments before braving the corridor in search of some friends to sit with, as he was now alone in the compartment- it was going to be hard with both Lily and Regulus as prefects, as well as in the Slug Club.


	14. Lily 7

Lily arrived at the prefects' compartment, and, as she sat next to Remus, she started talking:

"Hey, Remus, did you find that quill you wanted?" Lily and Remus had met in Hogsmeade the previous day and he had been in search for a special peacock's feather quill.

"Yeah, Dervish and Bangs did have some, after all- I reckon the assistant I asked when I first went in just couldn't be bothered to look. It cost a galleon and fifteen sickles, as well, which I thought was a bit steep."

"Yeah," Lily agreed, "I think you would've got a better deal at Scrivenshaft's." They continued to chat like this for a few moments, until Professor Dumbledore arrived and sat down. Lily glanced up to see whether Regulus was there yet and saw him sitting across the compartment in what looked like an intense conversation with another Slytherin boy. Lily was surprised and felt a bit hurt that he hadn't said anything to her when he came in and she glared at him, but Regulus seemed not to notice and soon, Professor Dumbledore started talking and Lily diverted her attention to him.

"Welcome, new prefects and welcome back, old prefects. I shall soon send the older prefects away to make the first round, whilst I talk to the new prefects that are joining us this year. First, however, I would like to say a few words to you all. As you know, here at Hogwarts, we like to lead by the example, and that includes teachers as well as prefects, and we hope, older students setting examples for younger students. As you are well aware, we live in a time of uncertainty and danger, so it is especially important to check which examples we set for the impressionable minds of our younger students. Particularly those who have lost family or who has family that has fought in this War, whichever side that is, or has been brought up to follow one side or the other. We welcome any students at Hogwarts, as you know, despite their parentage, however, I must urge you to be careful not to give the younger students any reason to believe that the Dark Arts or the actions of Death Eaters are in anyway admirable or acceptable. Also, please remember to ensure that all first years understand the rules completely, this year, we don't want a repeat of last year's fiasco, when several Ravenclaw students narrowly escaped death in the Forbidden Forest, do we, Treanon?" At this, Treanon blushed and a few other prefects chuckled, including Lily- she had never liked Treanon and he could be SO ANNOYING at Slug Club meetings! When Professor Dumbledore dismissed them, Lily and Remus headed off down the train to carriage D, to patrol. As they walked, Lily asked:

"So, Remus, did you get in any more Quidditch practise since we practiced at yours a couple of weeks ago?"

"I did a bit of flying, catching apples and stuff, but it's not really much fun by yourself."

"Couldn't your friends join with you?"

"Well, now Padfoot's living with Prongs, we usually hang around his place, in Godric's Hollow, but their garden's not really big enough for all four of us. Padfoot's out to impress some girl with his skills, so he and Prongs kind of hog the garden- I usually just sit inside with Wormtail and Prongs' parents. But it's OK, I still have a good time."

"So don't you have a girl to impress?" teased Lily, giggling. Remus replied seriously:

"There is a girl I like, but there's no way we can be together. Besides, I don't think she's impressed by Quidditch."

"Well, Remus, if she doesn't like you, she's a idiot and isn't worth getting upset over." Lily told him. She was going to change the subject, but curiosity got the better of her and she asked:

"So who is it? Someone I know? Someone in our year?"

"Yes to both, but I can't tell you who." Remus replied.

"Someone I'll approve of?"

"I really doubt it." Lily laughed at this, and muttered:

"Intriguing. So, someone in my dormitory?"

"Yes, actually."

"Is it Natasha? Or maybe Mariah?"

"Nope, neither of those. Can you stop guessing please?" But Lily laughed again and said:

"Come on Remus, I'm having fun. So, which is it – Hannah or Rebecca?" Remus looked straight at her and replied:

"Neither"

"But it's got to be one of them- that's everyone except for me." Remus looked into her eyes when she said this and a realisation hit her- Remus liked HER? Since when had this happened? When she at last trusted herself, she began to say:

"Remus, I….."

"Yeah, I know," Remus interrupted, "I know you don't like me, and even if you did I could never do that to Prongs. Can we please just be friends and pretend this never happened?"

"I don't know, Remus, don't you think that could make things awkward between us? I don't want everyone to think I'm a slag that strings guys along."

"I'm glad my friendship is so important to you!" Remus snapped. Lily tried to argue with this:

"Remus, it IS, I just…."

"You know what, Lily? I can probably finish this carriage by myself. Why don't you go to Carriage C?"

"Come on, Remus, we can still be civil." She told him, but Remus ignored her and walked off, calling:

"See you Lily." Lily considered following him, but instead headed the other way, towards Carriage C.


End file.
